NY&A nets ASLRRA honors

Among those recognized with various awards April 30 (including Railway Age's own Short Line Railroad of the Year and Regional Railroad of the Year honors) during the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association annual meeting in Atlanta, the New York & Atlantic Railway notched both marketing and safety awards from ASLRRA.

Queens, N.Y.-based NY&A was the first railroad in the New York metro area to restore service after Hurricane Sandy struck the New York metropolitan area, including Long Island, on Oct. 29, 2012. "Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our employees and remarkable support from the Long Island Rail Road, we were able to inspect tracks the next day and resume limited service to our customers just two days later," said NY&A President Paul Victor.

NY&A delivered cars of propane, as well as food and beverage items, to Long Island customers. "Normally the first train on the line was ours," Victor said. "There were no delays because there were no passenger trains anywhere." LIRR granted waivers allowing the NY&A to bring in heavier shipments of building products and clearing outbound shipments of debris.

NY&A won the "Most Improved Safety Record Award" for its demonstrated progress over a three-year period, as verified by the Federal Railroad Administration.

"This is a huge tribute to the hard work by our employees and a significant achievement among the more than 500 smaller U.S. railroads," said Victor. "This safety record helps show that the New York & Atlantic is a safer place to work."

The New York & Atlantic is one of four affiliates of Chicago-based Anacostia Rail Holdings, Inc.